Isabella Carter
The process of citing parts of the Constitution depends on the citation style being used. For example, in APA style, citations of the U.S. Constitution begin with U.S. Const. followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. In MLA style, article and amendment numbers are used in the in-text citation instead of page numbers. When using Chicago style, it is recommended to limit legal citations to the text itself when only a few legal citations are used, but when several legal documents are used, they should be supplemented with footnotes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Style | MLA, APA, Chicago, Bluebook |
| Reference List Entries | Required for APA and MLA styles |
| In-text Citations | Required for APA and MLA styles |
| Footnotes | Required for Chicago style |
| Bibliography | Not required for Chicago style |
| Title | Use MLA capitalization style |
| Abbreviations | Use "art." for "Article", "amend." for "Amendment", "sec." for "Section", and "cl." for "Clause" |
| Numerals | Use Roman numerals for Article and Amendment numbers, and Arabic numerals for Section and Clause numbers |
| Dates | Include the year in parentheses if referring to a repealed or amended part of the Constitution |
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What You'll Learn
Citing the US Constitution in APA style
When citing the US Constitution in APA style, you should first note that the Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed., 2005; www.legalbluebook.com) sets the standard for all legal citations. The style for legal citations in the Publication Manual comes directly from the Bluebook.
If you are making a passing reference to the US Constitution in an APA Style paper, you can mention it in the text without a reference list entry. However, if you are using a part of the US Constitution as evidence to support a point in your paper, you should construct the citation using Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions.
All citations of the US Constitution begin with "U.S. Const.," followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as relevant. The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," "§," and "cl.," respectively. Preamble is abbreviated as "pmbl." Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
For example, a citation for the US Constitution's preamble would look like this:
> U.S. Const. pmbl.
If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year in parentheses. For instance:
> U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)
If you are citing a source that is not listed and cannot find guidelines from APA, you can create a generic reference. The Publication Manual lists certain elements that should be included in a generic reference: author, date, and title.
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Citing the US Constitution in MLA style
Citing the US Constitution accurately in MLA style is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, proper citation gives credit to the original source and maintains academic integrity. Secondly, it ensures that readers can easily locate the referenced sections, enhancing the credibility and reliability of your work.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. When citing the US Constitution in MLA style, you should include information about where you accessed it in the Works Cited entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers. For example, "Constitution of the United States" (art. 1, sec. 4). Use the abbreviations "art." (Article), "amend." (Amendment), and "sec." (Section) as appropriate in your citations and convert any Roman numerals used in the text to Arabic numerals (e.g., "XIV" becomes "14").
If you are citing a specific edition of the Constitution, such as an online version or a book, include this information in your citation. For example, if you are citing an online version, provide the URL and the date accessed. If you are citing a book, write the title of the book in italics, and list any editors, annotators, or other main contributors to the edition after the title.
When mentioning the Constitution in your paper, you can generally refer to it as "the Constitution" without using italics or quotation marks. However, in the parenthetical citation, you should specify the version cited to match the first words of the Works Cited entry. For example, ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4). Additionally, if you are citing a state constitution, include the name of the state, followed by the relevant article, section, or amendment information.
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Citing a specific piece of the Constitution
When citing a specific piece of the Constitution, it is important to follow the correct style guide, such as APA, MLA, or Bluebook. Here is how to cite a specific piece of the Constitution in each of these styles.
APA Style
The APA style is a widely accepted formatting style used in the social sciences and other disciplines. To cite a specific piece of the US Constitution in APA style, you should refer to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. This is the definitive source for legal citations. All citations of the US Constitution in APA style begin with "U.S. Const." followed by the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. The terms article, amendment, and section are abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," and "§," respectively, while Roman numerals are used for article and amendment numbers, and Arabic numerals for section and clause numbers. For example, "U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3" refers to Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution. When citing a provision that has been amended or repealed, include the date in parentheses, such as "U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)."
MLA Style
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is commonly used in the humanities and liberal arts. When citing a specific part of the Constitution in MLA style, you should specify the version cited and use appropriate abbreviations such as "art." for Article, "amend." for Amendment, and "sec." for Section. Convert any Roman numerals used in the text to Arabic numerals. For example, "As stated in the Constitution ('Constitution of the United States,' art. 1, sec. 4)." If you are citing a published book edition of the Constitution, write the title in italics and list any editors or contributors.
Bluebook
The Bluebook is the most commonly used citation guide for legal documents in the United States. To cite a specific piece of the Constitution using Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions, begin with "U.S. Const." and then include the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. Use the abbreviations "art." for Article, "amend." for Amendment, "§" for Section, and "cl." for Clause. Article and amendment numbers are denoted by Roman numerals, while section and clause numbers use Arabic numerals. If the cited portion has been amended or repealed, include the date in parentheses, but omit the date for currently enforced parts of the Constitution.
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Citing a source with no author or page numbers
When citing a source with no author or page numbers, the style of citation depends on whether you are using the APA or MLA style.
APA Style
The APA manual recommends the use of the author-date citation structure for in-text citations. However, if no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date"). For example:
> "A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using Citations," 2001). Note: In the rare case that "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001)."
If the source is an electronic document without page numbers, try to include other information to help readers find the passage being cited, such as the heading or section name, an abbreviated heading, or a paragraph number. For example:
> "According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind Over Matter section, para. 6)."
MLA Style
If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title. Use a shortened version of the title in your MLA in-text citation. For example:
> "As stated in the Constitution, … (“Constitution of the United States,” art. 1, sec. 4)."
If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g., a chapter number or a timestamp for a video or audio source) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation. If the source has no numbered divisions, cite only the title. If you have already named the title in your sentence, and there is no locator available, you don’t need a parenthetical citation.
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Citing an amended provision
APA Style
In APA style, all citations of the US Constitution begin with "U.S. Const." followed by the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. The terms "article," "amendment," "section," and "clause" are abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," "§," and "cl.," respectively. Article and amendment numbers are written using Roman numerals (e.g., I, II, III), while section and clause numbers use Arabic numerals (e.g., 1, 2, 3). For example:
> U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2
When citing an amended provision, indicate the date it was amended in parentheses, like this:
> U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933)
MLA Style
In MLA style, the general format is similar. When citing an online or book version of the Constitution, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers in the in-text citation. You can refer to the Constitution as "The Constitution" in your paper without the need for italics or quotation marks. For example:
> ("Constitution of the United States," art. 1, sec. 4)
When citing a specific amendment, use Roman numerals for the amendment number and "amend." as the abbreviation. Provide information about where you accessed the document in the Works Cited entry:
> ("Constitution of the United States," amend. II)
Chicago Style
While specific examples for Chicago style are not readily available, it is understood that Chicago style requires a footnote for citing an amended provision. The general format is likely to be similar to APA and MLA styles, with the use of "U.S. Const." followed by the relevant article, amendment, section, and clause numbers.
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Frequently asked questions
All citations of the U.S. Constitution in APA style begin with "U.S. Const.", followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as relevant.
If you wish to cite the U.S. Constitution as a whole, you may simply mention it in your paper without including a citation in the references list.
If you are citing a part of the Constitution, you should use the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
To cite the U.S. Constitution in MLA style, include information about where you accessed it in the Works Cited entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers.
If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title. If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g. a chapter number) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation.
